Final Project Spotlight: Get Informed

Jady became interested in coding after watching a movie based on a real story about a small team of computer scientists and mathematicians who decoded enemy messages that eventually saved millions of lives and helped end the second world war. This summer Kode With Klossy gave Jady the opportunity to continue exploring her interest in combining programming with her passion for helping others at home and abroad. She loved the challenge of a rigorous academic camp combined with the supportive community other young women with similar interests and passion for learning. During the camp, Jady had the chance to team up with Torie and Allison to build a final project to showcase the skills they learned in camp. They created “Get informed” with the goal of making news about politics more accessible to young people. “News, especially about politics, can be hard to consume,” Jady explains.

Torie who is starting college this fall and plans to major in Political Science explains why they decided to work on this project, “Our goal was to make news about issues that affect us straightforward and fun and give our peers ideas for how to get involved.” The interactive website allows visitors to search for news articles and current laws and bills in Congress related to an issue they care about. The site also includes links to make it easy to register to vote, contact an elected official or write letters to representatives, all while keeping it simple, easy and fun to use.

Torie attended Kode with Klossy in 2016 and returned in 2017 to continue to build her skills. As Torie began to learn about the implications of computer science in every aspect of our daily lives, she wanted to share that information with others and use her new skills to help others. Torie’s inspiration to serve is rooted in her travel experiences. She has been lucky to visit different countries and participate in service projects for young women who do not have the same privileges and opportunities that she has back home. The stories of these young women have inspired her and as she begins her studies in Political Science, she is particularly interested in exploring the relationship between human rights and the potential of computer and information technology to fight poverty, help end violence against women, and give every young girl the chance to go to school.

For Allison, coding has always had a special appeal. The idea that by learning a special language you can create things and make things happen is exciting and it has captured her imagination ever since she made her first "Hello, world!" program with Java. She is convinced that using her coding superpowers is one of the best ways to change the world, even at her young age. Her journey in coding was not always easy. When she started learning to code, there were not a lot of girls in her school’s STEM club and she felt intimidated, but she embraced the challenge and enrolled in AP Computer Science. She studied hard and became one of the highest performing students in the class, earning a 5 on the AP exam.This experience helped her tap confidence she did not knew she had “the feeling of limitless opportunities was liberating. I want to help instill the same feeling of confidence in other girls by learning different coding languages and demonstrating that gender has nothing to do with ability in STEM fields." Kode With Klossy gave her the opportunity to develop new skills and learn from other young women who are motivated to code and change the world. Allison now has plans to join the leadership team of her school’s STEM club and working to create a better environment for both girls and boys to explore computer science together.